It's a sign of what may come for the company, long beleaguered by plummeting revenue in its land-line telephone business spanning from Vernon, N.J., to Florida, N.Y.

David Cuthbert, the new CEO of Warwick Valley Telephone, which does business as Alteva, highlighted the achievements of the unified communications segment during a conference call with analysts and investors Tuesday.

"U.C. revenue in 2012 contributed to half of consolidated revenue for the first time in history," Cuthbert said, adding that the number of unified communications customers has been at a record level for four consecutive quarters. The company now has 30,000 users on its hosted platform, he said.

Unified communications is a potpourri of workplace tools like high-tech phones integrated with computers, document collaboration and live meetings over the Internet.

The company released its year-end results late Monday.

Warwick Valley lost $9.5 million in 2012, compared with $2.9 million lost the year before. The company posted a $24.3 million operating loss for the year, which included an $8.9 million writedown of fixed assets in its telephone division. That was partially offset by $11 million in investment income. Full-year operating revenue was $27.9 million, up from $25.9 million in 2011. The telephone division reported $14.4 million in operating revenue in 2012, down almost 20 percent from 2011.

Cuthbert, who replaced former CEO Duane Albro earlier this month, spoke from the Roth Capital Partners conference in California, an investment event focusing on growth companies.

"Our presence in the industry is continuing to improve," Cuthbert said. "We're continually being asked to address constituents at trade shows."

Warwick Valley received its largest amount ever of new unified communications equipment orders in the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2012, according to a press release. The company will not record the revenue from those equipment sales until the first half of 2013, Cuthbert said. The company's current platform can support two to three times the current revenue level, he added.

Warwick Valley also received $3.25 million from the Orange County-Poughkeepsie Limited Partnership in the fourth quarter. The company has the option to sell its share in the partnership either this April or next.

If Warwick Valley exercised the option next month, it would receive $50 million, Cuthbert said.

Cuthbert has set a goal for Warwick Valley for the year: He's aiming to report positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — not including cash from the partnership — by the end of the first quarter of 2014.

Alteva's stock closed Tuesday at $10.24, down about 1 percent for the day.